[742]

Originally Posted by Richwm

You are correct see below
So if your like me and get good gas milage you get a free oil change every 20k miles.

Actually it is my wife's car, and it looks like it will be 18,300 miles +/- a few hundred. Odd thing is that about half her trips are short, and in all cases she drives with a certain amount of enthusiasm. The only thing in her favor in terms of gas mileage is that the car is a manual. [Yes, it is true...I got a manual for the wife.]

So anyway, it looks like “free maintenance” for me will be 2 oil changes. Whoopee.

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by 742

Is this sticker on the steptronic, the manual or both?

If I were Emperor every company that used the term “lifetime” would have to explain what that "lifetime" is designed to be.

I believe the sticker is on both, but not sure. I do know for sure that it is on the MT as someone on this forum observed it and if you look at realoem.com, you can see the sticker on the diagram and the sticker has a part #.

I don't believe the E46 had a sticker on the actual transmission telling you not to change the fluid ever... this came later on the E90s I believe

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by Richwm

My E46 says lifetime fill but I havent looked at the E90 but im planing on changing my trans and rear diff with redline oil at 50k miles when my warranty is up, which will most likely next month since im at 45K miles now. BTW my e90 has had two dealer oil changes one at 21k miles and one at 40K miles and I did 5, 10, 15, 30K miles and will change it this weekend again it only takes me 15 min. and $37 to do it myself. Mobil-1 from CostCo $27 and BMW filter from Crown for less than $10.

The frequent oil changes early in the life of the car is a good idea in my book!

I did at 2000 kms, 7500 kms, 12500 kms, 21000 kms, 28750 kms so far.... one of those was free... I just do it in my garage too... takes 20 minutes and you do it on your schedule without dealing with service geeks!

I will have to check out Costco for the Mobil1 0W40 because I pay almost twice that here at Canadian Tire! yikes!

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by danimal

Making an intelligent decision about this without some real data is pretty much impossible

I don't care if someone has a friend whose Uncle Gus found sludge in his 3 Series after 2000 miles or someone else's brother's oil still looked new after 15K miles...I want to see engine failure rates or at least get an SA to pipe in and tell us what he's observed.

Without that, the best thing we have to go on is what BMW and synthetic oil manufacturers have to say. Both have no doubt conducted countless tests under the harshest of conditions to come up with their recommendations, and neither has any real, long-term-viable incentive to lie that I can see.

Why would BMW want to sacrifice its reputation as a builder of fabulous, high-quality engines or piss off hundreds of thousands of loyal customers just to shave a couple hundred off the MSRP of a $45K car? And why would Mobile 1 want you to buy less of its synthetic oil? I'm sure conspiracy theorists will have answers to both these questions, but I just don't see it.

I won't dispute that you may get a little more life out of your engine if you shorten the oil-change interval, but that's not going to add any life to the rest of your car. Most modern engines will still be going strong long after the car as a whole is feeling tired and old, so, unless you're planning to drive your car until it's a qualified relic, I remain skeptical that a shorter oil-change interval is worth the extra money and hassle.

Now please me and tell me why I'm wrong

-Dan

There actually is a tech on this forum, or maybe it was bimmerfest, that has posted pictures of at least one E46 that he serviced... it hadn't had an oil change for something like 50K miles and had one prior to that at 15000 miles. It was full of sluge. The tech posted pictures and made the comment that he had serviced other E46 engines that had oil changes only every 15,000 miles that looked very similar with regards to sluge to this case.

In addition, Mobil1 does put forward the caveat that if you put your vehicle through "severe service" that you may want to change more often that 15,000 miles. Well guess what? Severe service is basically what many people do which is lots of short-haul trips to-and-from work in traffic. Another example of severe service is racing.

Take your risks as you will! All I know is that my engine looks brand new inside and drives and sounds like brand new.

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by Jaws

Congratulations on your trust in BMW, but there is a wide range in driving habits. My wife primarily drives the E90 for short drives in the city, sometimes in temperatures around -30C. Have you even experienced -30? Think how hard it is on the car and engine oil. Also, it is so cold here in the winter at times that they put gravel on the roads mixed in with the salt. It gets pretty dusty as well. A good deal of dust makes it past the air filter and into the crank case. Synthetic oils are good quality and I don't doubt that the oil itself has not broken down at 30k km, but it gets dirty just like dino oil. BMW doesn't care about powertrain durability outside of warranty, but I do. I won't let BMW actuaries determine my oil change intervals.

+1 to this! I live in Calgary and yeah, I have seen some freakin' cold starts and a lot of them with this car. The CBS doesn't consider this type of thing apprarently... and it should. Driving in the winter is severe service and demands more frequent oil changes!

[E90330iS]

Just a heads up guys, I got a flyer for New Century BMW (SoCal) today and they have a special on the complete oil change with oil filter and other engine bay fluids for $34.99 plus tax. It is $70 regularly!

[CALIF65GM]

Originally Posted by Ascension

Where'd you get it done for $89

Yep I wanna know too. I paid $140 for mines at Concord BMW and getting ready to pay for another one next month.

[firstkill]

Originally Posted by E90330iS

Just a heads up guys, I got a flyer for New Century BMW (SoCal) today and they have a special on the complete oil change with oil filter and other engine bay fluids for $34.99 plus tax. It is $70 regularly!

Can you post this flyer in a jpg by chance?

If this is the case... I mine as well get it done.


fk

[trick50]

Originally Posted by firstkill

Can you post this flyer in a jpg by chance?

If this is the case... I mine as well get it done.


fk

This is f'ing horseshit...I picked up 7 quarts of oil and a filter from my dealer today and got ass raped for 78 dollars and I have to do it myself? Rallye Motors hosed me for $8.10/quart and $15.95/filter + tax

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by trick50

This is f'ing horseshit...I picked up 7 quarts of oil and a filter from my dealer today and got ass raped for 78 dollars and I have to do it myself? Rallye Motors hosed me for $8.10/quart and $15.95/filter + tax

you got hosed... I pay a smaller number than those items and in Canadian Dollars on top of it. $CDN 7.50/liter of oil and $CDN 14.80 for the filter at the local dealer.

[droptop335]

Originally Posted by 742

Letting Jiffy Lube touch this car is like going to a butcher shop for surgery.

It amazes me how someone can have one or maybe even a few bad experiences with a company, and then make sweeping generalized statements about every location the company operates. Jiffy Lube has both company-owned AND franchised locations across the United States. Every owner or Manager has control over how his or her shop is operated. And yet, they're all "butcher shops", and shouldn't be allowed to touch your car.

Well how about this? I have taken all of my cars to the same Jiffy Lube for several years. They always allow me to see the individual one-quart containers of full synthetic oil they put in my cars. They show me the used oil filter taken out of my car, and show me the new one they are going to install. I have never had a problem with a leaking filter seat or drain plug, or even a stripped drain plug.

Now, based on my experiences, should I make a sweeping claim that ALL Jiffy Lubes are wonderfully honest and proficient shops? Of course not, but at least one is. And I would bet that among the thousands of other locations they operate, there are other equally diligent owners that make sure they take care of their customers, so that those customers will keep coming back instead of going to the shop down the street or back to the dealer for their oil changes. That's how business should be run.

By the same token, are there BMW dealerships that shouldn't be allowed to touch your car once it's been delivered to you? Of course there are. That's why people on this forum share their experiences with different dealerships. Indeed, isn't that why you guys are quoting oil change prices here? To be able to tell each other who is giving good value, and who is ripping people off?

C'mon folks, let's be fair here. If you have a gripe about one particular shop, then by all means share it. But don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

And by the way, I bet there are some butchers that would do a better job than some of the surgeons in this world...

[trick50]

So I just called Habberstad..they charge
$5.15/per quart
$17.95/oil filter
$54 in parts plus tax

If you want them to do the oil change they charge $85

Rallye
$8.10/per quart
$15.9/oil filter
$72.65 in parts plus tax.
If you want them to do the oil change they charge $135

Now I already bought the oil from Rallye I am not going to return it and then go to Habberstad. But now I know for future reference. That if I want to do the oil change myself I am better off saving $20 bucks and getting my parts from Habberstad. And for only $10 more than Rallye charges for the parts, I can let Habberstad do the job and I get to keep my t-shirt oil stain free lol.

[roller84]

You can get an additional 15% off parts at Habberstad w/ BMWCCA membership.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by trick50

This is f'ing horseshit...I picked up 7 quarts of oil and a filter from my dealer today and got ass raped for 78 dollars and I have to do it myself? Rallye Motors hosed me for $8.10/quart and $15.95/filter + tax

It is crazy, with the world of autos it's caveat emptor. I usually buy my Nissan OEM filters in bulk, $4 ea when buying 12, no tax, no shipping. Once I ran out, went to a dealer near my work, and paid $8.50, over list price. Yes, list price is suggested and dealers are free to charge more, but I still think that's shady.

[E90330iS]

Guys, I just used the coupon on the flyer for New Century BMW at 34.99 per oil change, and I have to say I got owned. First it says the coupon covers up to 5 quarts, so I have to cover 2 quarts on my own: $12 and then the dealer said the oil filter is different for synthetic oil so that was another $10 So it ended up to be $64. Still lower than most of the other dealers, but the coupon did not save much.

[742]

Originally Posted by droptop335

It amazes me how someone can have one or maybe even a few bad experiences with a company, and then make sweeping generalized statements about every location the company operates. Jiffy Lube has both company-owned AND franchised locations across the United States. Every owner or Manager has control over how his or her shop is operated. And yet, they're all "butcher shops", and shouldn't be allowed to touch your car.

Well how about this? I have taken all of my cars to the same Jiffy Lube for several years. They always allow me to see the individual one-quart containers of full synthetic oil they put in my cars. They show me the used oil filter taken out of my car, and show me the new one they are going to install. I have never had a problem with a leaking filter seat or drain plug, or even a stripped drain plug.

Now, based on my experiences, should I make a sweeping claim that ALL Jiffy Lubes are wonderfully honest and proficient shops? Of course not, but at least one is. And I would bet that among the thousands of other locations they operate, there are other equally diligent owners that make sure they take care of their customers, so that those customers will keep coming back instead of going to the shop down the street or back to the dealer for their oil changes. That's how business should be run.

By the same token, are there BMW dealerships that shouldn't be allowed to touch your car once it's been delivered to you? Of course there are. That's why people on this forum share their experiences with different dealerships. Indeed, isn't that why you guys are quoting oil change prices here? To be able to tell each other who is giving good value, and who is ripping people off?

C'mon folks, let's be fair here. If you have a gripe about one particular shop, then by all means share it. But don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

And by the way, I bet there are some butchers that would do a better job than some of the surgeons in this world...

With regard to your last point, not doubt that there are some good butcher surgeons. But the odds of running into one are slim.

A “nationally known quick lube operation” ought to provide a consistent level of service from location to location. We all know what we are going to get at pretty much any nationally known fast food franchise—and it won’t be food poisoning. Why can’t the same reliability be achieved by the automotive equivalent of McDonalds?

But even if reliability is achieved, these cars are ill suited to a business model that is based on bulk oil, commodity filters and price sensitive customers.

[ROCKETRON]

I think the prices you guys are complaining about are good. $135 equates to around uk£70 and for that we couldn't even buy the synthetic oil for a BMW never mind get it changed as well. By the way the oil service usually includes an air con filter as well.

[ejazbmw]

i would have givin my dealership the:finger:

[TX S3]

ok, SO I've just realized the E90 does not came with a "dipstick". So if changing by yourself, how will you know what to top it off and amount?

I like to change the oil by myself for most of my BMWs.. but shocking to know that it cost 80 plus bucks for the E90!!!!

I think Mobile 1 is 5 bucks a pop and filter 15-17 bucks. Parts alone some where 60 dollars north. But charging another 25 dollars for labor is a rip off.

Do the car hit 15K for the service light or oil change come on? mine is at 13.5K now.

[scottp999]

You can buy the oil filter online for less than $9:

N52/N54 Oil Filter
Part #: 11427566327 (11 42 7 566 327)

or you can bulk order 10 at about $7.50 plus shipping:

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...047&startrow=1

[droptop335]

Originally Posted by 742

A “nationally known quick lube operation” ought to provide a consistent level of service from location to location.

The exact same thing can be said about a dealership network...even more so as they are all corporate-owned rather than franchised...However, people here are touting one dealership over the other, and nobody is saying that all dealerships are not to be trusted. What's the difference?

[Kiemyster]

LOL